MY GARDEN - HIS GARDEN... this is how to teach Song of Solomon without going Seattle on the text

Read this breathtaking and beautiful exposition of God's Word from the pen of Charles Spurgeon about our joy, rest, fruit, and fragrance that we have in Jesus Christ our Lord. The Prince of Preachers godly demonstrates how to preach from this magnificent Song of Solomon bringing the focus to the Lord Jesus Christ: with reverence, with resoluteness, with realism, with righteousness, with repentance, and with regality.

May these sweet, powerful, refreshing words cause your love to abound more and more for the Lover of Our Souls; The Husband of the Church; to Jesus Christ the Righteous - King of kings and Lord of lords.

Grace and Truth,
Steve
Psalm 63

"Awake, O north wind; and come,

thou south; blow upon my garden,

that the spices thereof may flow out.

Let my beloved come into his garden,

and eat his pleasant fruits."

—Song of Solomon 4:16

by Charles H. Spurgeon
WHAT A DIFFERENCE there is between what the believer was by nature and what the grace of God has made him! Naturally, we were like the waste howling wilderness, like the desert which yields no healthy plant or verdure. It seemed as if we were given over to be like a salt land, which is not inhabited; no good thing was in us, or could spring out of us. But now, as many of us as have known the Lord are transformed into gardens; our wilderness is made like Eden, our desert is changed into the garden of the Lord. "I will turn unto you," said the Lord to the mountains of Israel when they were bleak and bare, "I will turn unto you, and ye shall be tilled and sown;" and this is exactly what he said to the barrenness of our nature. We have been enclosed by grace, we have been tilled and sown, we have experienced all the operations of the divine husbandry. Our Lord Jesus said to his disciples, "My Father is the husbandman," and he has made us to be fruitful unto his praise, full of sweetness where once there was no fruit, and nothing that could give him delight.

We are a garden, then, and in a garden there are flowers and fruits, and in every Christian's heart you will find the same evidences of culture and care; not in all alike, for even gardens and fields vary in productiveness. In the good ground mentioned by our Lord in the parable of the sower, the good seed did not all bring forth a hundredfold, or even sixty-fold; there were some parts of the field where the harvest was as low as thirty-fold, and I fear that there are some of the Lord's gardens which yield even less than that. Still, there are the fruits and there are the flowers, in a measure; there is a good beginning made wherever the grace of God has undertaken the culture of our nature.

I. Now coming to our test, and thinking of Christians as the Lord's garden, I want you to observe, first, that THERE ARE SWEET SPICES IN BELIEVERS.
The text assumes that when it says, "Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out." There are in the Lord's garden sweet flowers that drip with honey, and all manner of delightful perfumes. There are such sweet spices within the believer's heart; let us think of them for a few minutes, and first, let me remind you of the names of these sweet spices.

For instance, there is faith; is there anything out of heaven sweeter than faith,—the faith which trusts and clings, which believes and hopes, and declares that, though God shall slay it, yet will it trust in him? In the Lord's esteem, faith is full of fragrance. He never delighted in the burning of bulls and the fat of fed beasts, but he always delighted in the faith which brought these things as types of the one great sacrifice for sin. Faith is very dear to him. Then comes love; and again I must ask,—Is there to be found anywhere a sweeter spice than this,—the love which loves God because he first loved us, the love which flows out to all the brotherhood, the love which knows no circle within which it can be bounded, but which loves the whole race of mankind, and seeks to do them good? It is exceedingly pleasing to God to see love growing where once all was hate, and to see faith springing up in that very soul which was formerly choked with the thorns and briers of doubt and unbelief. And there is also hope, which is indeed an excellent grace, a far-seeing grace by which we behold heaven and eternal bliss. There is such a fragrance about a God-given hope that this poor sin-stricken world seems to be cured by it. Wherever this living, lively hope comes, there men lift up their drooping heads, and begin to rejoice in God their Savior. You do not need that I should go over all the list of Christian graces, and mention meekness, brotherly kindness, courage, uprightness, or the patience which endures so much from the hand of God; but whatsoever grace I might mention, it would not be difficult at once to convince you that there is a sweetness and a perfume about all grace in the esteem of him who created it, and it delights him that it should flourish where once its opposite alone was found growing in the heart of man. These, then, are some of the saints' sweet spices.

Next notice, that these sweet spices are delightful to God. It is very wonderful that we should have within us anything in which God can take delight; yet when we think of all the other wonders of his grace, we need not marvel at all. The God who gave us faith may well be pleased with faith. The God who created love in such unlovely hearts as ours may well be delighted at his own creation. He will not despise the work of his own hands; rather will he be delighted with it, and find sweet complacency therein. What an exaltation it is to us worms of the earth that there should ever be anything in us well-pleasing unto God! Well did the psalmist say, "What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him?" But God is mindful of us, and he does visit us. Of old, before Christ came into this world-in human form, his delights were with the sons of men; much more is it so now that he has taken their nature into heaven itself, and given to those sons of men his own Spirit to dwell within them. Let it ravish your heart with intense delight that, though often you can take no complacency in yourself, but go with your head bowed down, like a bulrush, and cry, "Woe is me!" yet in that very cry of yours God hears a note that is sweet and musical to his ears. Blessed is repentance, with her tear-drops in her eyes, sparkling like diamonds. God takes delight even in our longings after holiness, and in our loathings of our own imperfections. Just as the father delights to see his child anxious to be on the best and most loving terms with him, so does God delight in us when we are crying after that which we have not yet reached, the perfection which shall make us to be fully like himself. O beloved, I do not know anything that fills my soul with such feelings of joy as does the reflection that I, even I, may yet be and do something that shall give delight to the heart of God himself! He has joy over one sinner that repenteth, though repentance is but an initial grace; and when we go on from that to other graces, and take yet higher steps in the divine life, we may be sure that his joy is in us, and therefore our joy may well be full.

These spices of ours are not only delightful to God, but they are healthful to man. Every particle of faith that there is in the world is a sort of purifier; wherever it comes, it has a tendency to kill that which is evil. In the spiritual sanitary arrangements which God made for this poor world, he put men of faith, and the faith of these men, into the midst of all this corruption, to help to keep other men's souls alive, even as our Lord Jesus said to his disciples, "Ye are the salt of the earth." The sweet perfumes that flow out from the flowers which God cultivates in the garden of his Church are scattering spiritual health and sanity all around. It is a blessed thing that the Lord has provided these sweet spices to overpower and counteract the unhealthy odours that float on every breeze. Think, then, dear friends, of the importance of being God's fragrant flowers, which may yield perfumes that are delightful to him, and that are blessed and healthful to our fellow-men. A man of faith and love in a church sweetens all his brethren. Give us but a few such in our midst, and there shall be no broken spiritual unity, there shall be no coldness and spiritual death; but all shall go well where these men of God are among us as a mighty influence for good. And, as to the ungodly around us, the continued existence in the earth of the Church of Christ is the hope of the world. The world that hates the Church knows not what it does, for it is hating its best friend. The spices with which God is conserving this present evil age, lest his anger should destroy it because of the growing corruption, are to be found in the flowers which he has planted in the garden of his Church.

It sometimes happens that these sweet odors within God's people lie quiet and still. There is a stillness in the air, something like that which the poet Coleridge makes "The Ancient Mariner" speak of in his graphic description of a calm within the tropics. Do you, dear friends, never get into that becalmed condition? I recollect, when I was young, reading an expression,—I think of Erskine's,—in which he says that he lines a roaring devil better than a sleeping devil. It struck me then that, if I could keep the devil always asleep, it would be the best thing that could possibly happen for me; but now I am not so sure that I was right. At all events, I know this, when the old dog of hell barks very loudly, he keeps me awake; and when he howls at me, he drives me to the mercy-seat for protection; but when he goes to sleep, and lies very quiet, I am very apt to go to sleep, too, and then the graces that are within my soul seem to be absolutely hidden. And, mark you, hidden grace, which in no way reveals itself by its blessed odors, is all the same as if there were none, to those that watch from the outside, and sometimes to the believer himself. What is wanted, in order that he may know that he has these sweet perfumes, is something outside himself. You cannot stir your own graces, you cannot make them more, you cannot cause their fragrance to flow forth. True, by prayer, you may help to this end; but then, that very prayer is put into you by the Holy Spirit, and when it has been offered to the Lord, it comes back to you laden with blessings; but often, something more is needed, some movement of God's providence, and much more, some mighty working of his grace, to come and shake the flower bells in his garden, and make them shed their fragrance on the air. Alas! on a hot and drowsy day, when everything has fallen into a deep slumber, even God's saints, though they be wise virgins, go as soundly asleep as the foolish virgins, and they forget that "the Bridegroom cometh." "While the Bridegroom tarried, they all slumbered and slept;" and, sometimes, you and I must catch ourselves nodding when we ought to be wide awake. We are going through a part of that enchanted ground which John Bunyan describes, and we do not know what to do to keep ourselves awake.

At such times, a Christian is very apt to ask, "Am I indeed planted in God's garden? Am I really a child of God?" Now, I will say what some of you may think a strong thing; but I do not believe that he is a child of God who never raised that question. Cowper truly wrote,—

"He has no hope who never had a fear;
And he who never doubted of his state,
He may, perhaps,—perhaps he may—too late."

I have sung, and I expect that I may have to sing again,—

"'Tis a point I long to know;
Oft it causes anxious thought;
Do I love the Lord or no?

Am I his, or am I not?"

I cannot bear to get into that condition, and I cannot bear to keep in it when I am in it, but still, there must be anxious thought about this all-important matter. Because you happened to be excited on a certain occasion, and thought you were converted and were sure of heaven, you had better look well to the evidence on which you are relying. You may be mistaken after all; and while I would not preach up little faith, I would preach down great presumption. No man can have a faith too strong, and no assurance can be too full, if it comes really from God the Holy Spirit; but if it comes merely out of your fancying that it is so, and, therefore, will not examine yourself, whether you be in the faith, I begin to make up my mind that it is not so, because you are afraid to look into the matter. "I know that I am getting rich," says a merchant, "I never keep any books, and I do not want any books, but I know that I am getting on well in my business." If, my dear sir, I do not soon see your name in the Gazette, I shall be rather surprised.

Whenever a man is so very good that he does not want to esquire at all into his position before God, I suspect that he is afraid of introspection, and self-examination, and that he dare not look into his own heart. This I know; as I watch the many people of God committed to my care here, I see some run on for ten years or more serving God with holy joy, and having no doubt or fear. They are not generally remarkable for any great depth of experience, but when God means to make mighty men of them, he digs about them, and soon they come to me crying, and craving a little comfort, telling me what doubts they have, because they are not what they want to be. I am glad when this is the case, I rejoice because I know that they will be spiritually better off afterwards. They have reached a higher standard than they had previously attained, they have a better knowledge now of what they ought to be. It may be that, before, their ideal was a low one, and they thought that they had reached it. Now, God has revealed to them greater heights, which they have to climb; and they may as well gird up the loins of their mind to do so by divine help. As they get higher, they perhaps think, "Now we are at the top of the mountain," when they are really only on one of the lower spurs of it. Up they go, climbing again. "If once I can reach that point, I shall soon be at the summit," you think. Yes, and when you have at length got there, you see the mountain still towering far above you. Bow deceptive is the height of the Alps to those who have not seen them before! I said to a friend once, "It will take you about thirteen hours to get to the top of that mountain." "Why," he replied, "I can run up in half-an-hour." I let him have a try, and he had not gone far before he had to sit down to pant and rest. So you think of a certain height of grace, "Oh, I can easily reach that!" Yea, just so; but you do not know how high it is; and those who think that they have reached the top do not know anything about the top; for he who knows how high is the holiness to which the believer can attain will go on clambering and climbing, often on his hands and knees, and when he has reached that point which he thought was the summit, he will sit down and say, "I thought I had reached the top, but now I find that I have but begun the ascent." Or he may say with Job, "I have heard of thee by the hearing of the ear:" (and then I did not know much of thee, or of myself either,) "but now mine eye seeth thee. Wherefore I abhor myself, and repent in dust and ashes."

You see, then, that there are sweet spices lying in Christians, like hidden honey and locked-up perfume within the flowers on a hot day.

II. What is wanted is that THOSE SWEET ODORS SHOULD BE DIFFUSED. That is to be our second head. Read the text again: "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out."

Observe, first, that until our graces are diffused, it is the same as if they were not there. You may go through a wood, and it may be abounding in game, yet you may scarcely see a hare or notice a pheasant anywhere about. There they lie all quiet and undisturbed; but, by-and-by, the beaters go through the wood making a great noise, and away the pheasants fly, and you may see the timid hares run like hinds let loose, because they are disturbed and wakened up. That is what we sometimes need, to be aroused and stirred from slumber. We may not know that we have any faith till there comes a trial, and then our faith starts boldly up. We can hardly know how much we love our Lord till there comes a test of our love, and then we so behave ourselves that we know that we do love him. Oftentimes, as I have already reminded you, something is needed from without to stir the life that lies hidden within. It is so with these sweet flowers in the Beloved's garden, they need either the north wind or the south wind to blow upon them that they may shed abroad their sweet odors.

Notice next, that it is very painful to a Christian to be in such a condition that his graces are not stirring. He cannot endure it. We who love the Lord were not born again to waste our time in sinful slumber; our watchword is, "Let us not sleep, as do others." We were not born to inaction; every power that God has put within us was meant to be used in working, and striving, and serving the Lord. So, when our graces are slumbering, we ourselves are in an unhappy state. Then we long for any agency that would set those graces moving. The north wind? Oh, but if it shall blow, then we shall have snow! Well, then, let the snow come, for we must have our graces set in motion, we cannot bear that they should continue to lie quiet and still. "Awake, O north wind!"—a heavy trial, a bleak adversity, a fierce temptation,—anything so long as we do but begin to diffuse our graces. Or if the north wind be dreaded, we say, "Come, thou south!" Let prosperity be granted to us; let sweet fellowship with our brethren rouse us, and holy meditations, full of delight, stir our souls; let a sense of the divine life, like a soft south wind, come to our spirit. We are not particular which it is, let the Lord send which he pleases, or both together, as the text seems to imply, only do let us be aroused. "Quicken thou me, O Lord, according to thy Word,"-whichever Word thou shalt choose to apply, only do quicken thy servant, and let not the graces within me be as if they were dead!

Remember, however, that the best Quickener is always the Holy Spirit; and that blessed Spirit can come as the north wind, convincing us of sin, and tearing away every rag of our self-confidence, or he may come as the soft south wind, all full of love, revealing Christ, and the covenant of grace, and all the blessings treasured for us therein. Come, Holy Spirit! Come as the Heavenly Dove, or as the rushing mighty wind; but do come! Drop from above, as gently as the dew, or come like rattling hail, but do come, blest Spirit of God! We feel that we must be moved, we must be stirred, our heart's emotions must once again throb, to prove that the life of God is really within us; and if we do not realize this quickening and stirring, we are utterly unhappy.

You see also, dear friends, from this text, that when a child of God sees that his graces are not diffused abroad, then is the time that he should take to prayer. Let no one of us ever think of saying, "I do not feel as if I could pray, and therefore I will not pray." On the contrary, then is the time when you ought to pray more earnestly than ever. When the heart is disinclined for prayer, take that as a danger-signal, and at once go to the Lord with this resolve,—

"I will approach thee—I will force
My way through obstacles to thee:
To thee for strength will have recourse,
To thee for consolation flee!"

When you seem to yourself to have little faith, and little love, and little joy, then cry unto the Lord all the more, "cry aloud, and spare not." Say, "O my Father, I cannot endure this miserable existence! Thou hast made me to be a flower, to shed abroad my perfume, yet I am not doing it. Oh, by some means, stir my flagging spirit, till I shall be full of earnest industry, full of holy anxiety to promote thy glory, O my Lord and Master!" While you are thus crying, you must still believe, however, that God the Holy Spirit can stir your spirit, and make you full of life again. Never permit a doubt about that fact to linger in your bosom, else will you be unnecessarily sad. You, who are the true children of God, cannot ever come into a condition out of which the Holy Spirit cannot uplift you. You know the notable case of Laodicea, which was neither cold nor hot, and therefore so nauseous to the great Lord that he threatened to spue her out of his mouth, yet what is the message to the angel of that church? "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock." This is not said to sinners, it is addressed to the angel of the church of the Laodiceans: "Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me." Oh, matchless grace! He is sick of these lukewarm professors, yet he promises to sup with them, and that they shall sup with him. That is the only cure for lukewarmness and decline, to renew heart-fellowship with Christ; and he stands and offers it to all his people now. "Only do you open the door, and I will sup with you, and you shall sup with me." O you whose graces are lying so sinfully dormant, who have to mourn and cry because of "the body of this death"—for death in you seems to have taken to itself a body, and to have become a substantial thing, no mere skeleton now, but a heavy, cumbrous form that bows you down,—cry still to him who is able to deliver you from this lukewarm and sinful state! Let every one of us put up the prayer of our text, "Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; and blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out."

III. Our third and closing head will help to explain the remaining portion of our text: "Let my Beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." These words speak of THE COMPANY OF CHRIST AND THE ACCEPTANCE OF OUR FRUIT BY CHRIST.
I want you, dear friends, specially to notice one expression which is used here. While the spouse was, as it were, shut up and frozen, and the spices of the Lord's garden were not cowing out, she cried to the winds, "Blow upon my garden." She hardly dared to call it her Lord's garden; but now, notice the alteration in the phraseology: "Let my Beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits." The wind has blown through the garden, and made the sweet odours to flow forth; now it is no longer "my garden," but "his garden." It is wonderful how in increase of grace transfers our properties; while we have but little grace, we cry, "my," but when we get great grace, we cry "his." Wherein you are sinful and infirm, brother, that is yours, you rightly call it "my"; but when you become strong, and joyous, and full of faith, that is not yours, brother, and you rightly call it "his." Let him have all the glory of the change while you take all the shame and confusion of face to yourself that ever you should have been so destitute of grace. As the spouse says, "Let my Beloved come into his garden. Here are all the sweet perfumes flowing out; he will enjoy them, let him come and feel himself at home amongst them. He planted every flower, and gave to each its fragrance; let him come into his garden, and see what wonders his grace has wrought."

Do you not feel, beloved, that the one thing you want to stir your whole soul is that Christ's should come into it? Have you lost his company lately? Oh, do not try to do without it! The true child of God ought not to be willing to bear broken communion for even five minutes; but should be sighing and crying for its renewal. Our business is to seek to "walk in the light as God is in the light," fully enjoying communion with Christ our Lord; and when that fellowship is broken, then the heart feels that it has cast all its happiness away, and it must robe itself in sackcloth, and sorrowfully fast. If the presence of the Bridegroom shall be taken away from thee, then indeed shalt thou have cause to fast and to be sad. The best condition a heart can be in, if it has lost fellowship with Christ, is to resolve that it will give God no rest till it gets back to communion with him, and to give itself no rest till once more it finds the Well-beloved.

Next observe that, when the Beloved comes into his garden, the heart's humble but earnest entreaty is, "Let him eat his pleasant fruits." Would you keep back anything from Christ? I know you could not if he were to come into his garden. The best things that you have, you would first present to him, and then everything that you have, you would bring to him, and leave all at his dear feet. We do not ask him to come to the garden, that we may lay up our fruits, that we may put them by and store them up for ourselves; we ask him to come and eat them. The greatest joy of a Christian is to give joy to Christ; I do not know whether heaven itself can overmatch this pearl of giving joy to the heart of Jesus Christ on earth. It can match it, but not overmatch it, for it is a superlative joy to give joy to him,—the Man of sorrows, who was emptied of joy for our sakes, and who now is filled up again with joy as each one of us shall come and bring his share, and cause to the heart of Christ a new and fresh delight.

Did you ever reclaim a poor girl from the streets? Did you ever rescue a poor thief who had been in prison? Then I know that, as you have heard of the holy chastity of the one, or of the sacred honesty of the other of those lives that you have been the means of restoring, you have said, "Oh, this is delightful! There is no joy equal to it. The effort cost me money, it cost me time, it cost me thought, it cost me prayer, but I am repaid a thousand times." Then, as you see them growing up so bright, so transparent, so holy, so useful, you say, "This work is worth living for, it is a delight beyond measure." Often, persons come to me, and tell me of souls that were saved through my ministry twenty years ago. I heard, the other day, of one who was brought to Christ by a sermon of mine nearly thirty years ago, and I said to the friend who told me, "Thank you, thank you; you could not tell me anything that would give my heart such joy as this good news that God has made me the instrument of a soul's conversion." But what must be the joy of Christ who does all the work of salvation, who redeems us from sin, and death, and hell, when he sees such creatures as we are, made to be like himself, and knows the divine possibilities of glory and immortality that lie within us?

What are we going to be, brothers and sisters, we who are in Christ? We have not any idea of what holiness, and glory, and bliss, shall yet be ours. "It doth not yet appear what we shall be." We may rive even while on earth to great heights of holiness,—and the higher the better; but there is something better for us than mortal eye has ever seen or mortal ear has ever heard. There is more grace to be in the saints than we have ever seen in them, the saintliest saint on earth was never such a saint as they are yonder who are before the throne of the Most High; and I know not but that, even when they get there, there shall be a something yet beyond for them, and that through the eternal ages they shall still take for their motto, "Onward and upward!" In heaven, there will be no "Finis." We shall still continue to develop, and to become something more than we have ever been before; not fuller, but yet capable of holding more, ever growing in the possibility of reflecting Christ, and being filled with his love; and all the while our Lord Jesus Christ will be charmed and delighted with us. As he hears our lofty songs of praise, as he sees the bliss which will ever be flashing from each one of us, as he perceives the divine ecstasy which shall be ours for ever, he will take supreme delight in it all. "My redeemed," he will say, "the sheep of my pasture, the purchase of my blood, borne on my shoulders, my very heart pierced for them, oh, how I delight to see them in the heavenly fold! These my redeemed people are joint heirs with me in the boundless heritage that shall be theirs for ever; oh, how I do delight in them!"

"Wherefore, comfort one another with these words," beloved, and cry mightily that, on this church, and on all the churches, God's Spirit may blow, to make the spices flow. Pray, dear friends, all of you, for the churches to which you belong; and if you, my brother, are a pastor, be asking especially for this divine wind to blow through the garden which you have to cultivate, as I also pray for this portion of the garden of the Lord: "Let my Beloved come into his garden, and eat his pleasant fruits."

The Lord be with each one of you, beloved, for his dear name's sake! Amen.

JONATHAN EDWARDS: RESOLVED TO GRACE...enjoying the beauty and sweetness of Christ

For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation for all people,
training us to renounce ungodliness and worldly passions,
and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age,
-Titus 2:11-12

Jonathan Edwards kept a diary where he “rigorously” evaluated his progress and later came to say regarding this rigor “as involving ‘too great a dependence on my own strength; which afterwards proved a great damage to me.’” (see his 70 Resolutions)

A new friend in ministry (who wrote his dissertation on Edwards) shared this helpful insight:

Written within 1-2 years of his conversion, Edwards’ resolutions were more reflective of his admitted immaturity and youthful zeal than of his later reflections of the nature of the Christian life. For the mature Edwards, the steadfast life of faith is built upon a love of the beauty of God’s perfections as most prominently displayed in the person and redemptive work of Christ. As we grow in such love and knowledge, so we are increasingly conformed to the image of Christ, and in a love reflected in faithfulness to Him in thought and deed. The later reflections of Edwards are a far cry from the slavish and often painful attempts of Edwards at sanctification by resolution. We do well to learn from his lessons, and not to imitate what he himself came to view as problematic.

How refreshing to see a man of Edwards' stature, learning, and influence come to a place of real resolve by relinquishing the vain pursuit of his own moorings to that which is grace-based upon the Word of God and the Spirit of God alone. "Having begun by the Spirit are you now being perfected by the flesh?" May Edwards' following words of humility encourage us all to "be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."

"My longings after it, put me upon pursuing and pressing after them. It was my continual strife day and night, and constant inquiry, how I should be more holy, and live more holily, and more becoming a child of God, and disciple of Christ. I sought an increase of grace and holiness, and that I might live an holy life, with vastly more earnestness, than ever I sought grace, before I had it. I used to be continually examining myself, and studying and contriving for likely ways and means, how I should live holily, with far greater diligence and earnestness, than ever I pursued anything in my life: but with too great a dependence on my own strength; which afterwards proved a great damage to me. My experience had not then taught me, as it has done since, my extreme feebleness and impotence, every manner of way; and the innumerable and bottomless depths of secret corruption and deceit, that there was in my heart."

Source of Edwards quote: (Marsden, Jonathan Edwards, 53). The quote is from his “Personal Narrative” in the Yale Works, 16:797.

THE LORDSHIP OF CHRIST...the foundation of sola gratia

"Lordship Salvation emphasizes that a love for Christ springs from our new nature (granted freely by God) which desires to believe the gospel as well as submit to Jesus Christ as Lord over one's life. Both faith and obedience are the result of God's invincible and indelible grace, not the cause of it. The so-called 'free grace' movement rejects the inward call of the Holy Spirit to the elect and thus, like Romans Catholics and other synergists, mistakenly ascribe belief in Christ as something within the ability of the old nature. So while they may appear as antinomian after salvation, they are guilty of semi-pelagianism prior to it. An odd mix, but naturally we all are tempted to try to contribute something to our salvation. This is where the fall off the horse away from historic Chrstianity by rejecting the biblical doctrine of salvation by grace ALONE in Christ alone. By not giving glory to God for their faith they add conditions for their salvaiton.

The biggest obstacle to the "no-Lordship" position is its misapprehension of the work of the Holy Spirit in giving rise to our faith and affection for Christ. For HOW CAN AN UNREGENERATE MAN SEE CHRIST'S BEAUTY, EXCELLENCY OR ANYTHING TO DESIRE IN HIM AT ALL. One must have a new heart and the mind of Christ in order to understand and love spiritual things. It erroneously views the Lordship position as having added a contribution of commitment, and thus works, instead of recognizing that they themselves are doing this very same thing by making faith itself a contribution to the price of their redemption. i.e grace + faith. But those of us who embrace a "lordship salvation" believe faith and obedience are the result, not the cause of of the new birth. Unless the Holy Spirit changes the disposition of our hearts from hostility to affection for Christ, no one would exercise saving faith. Any "faith" which exists apart from the work of the Spirit is spurious and of the flesh (Luke 8:4-15). God alone does the work of regeneration which infallibly gives rise to a spiritual faith that desires to obey and commit itself to Christ. In this case God gets all the glory. But the "no-Lordship" position would have us believe that one could produce faith from our unregenerated human nature. The question is, why do some believe and others resist? Are some more wise or humble? Isn't it grace itself which makes us wise and humble? The Scripture says, "What do we have that we did not receive". So, in fact, while the "no-Lordship" position is admirably attempting to protect the doctrine of "faith alone", but in the process it has cast aside the biblical doctrine of "grace alone". "No-Lordship" may believe in a salvation by grace, but not salvation by grace alone (sola gratia). That man must somehow cooperate with God to be born again, as they hold, is to say that some men innately have the natural capacity to believe, independent of God's action of grace, while others do not. How is this different than salvation by merit? So in reality the burden of proof to explain belief apart from grace alone, is on those who hold to "no-Lordship". Different understandings of the work of the Holy Spirit in our regeneration is the key to the debate." -Author Unknown

DON'T WASTE YOUR LIFE...make much of God - even in your suffering

"Whatever makes us more and more able to enjoy making much of God is a mercy. For there is no greater joy than joy in the greatness of God. And if we must suffer to see this and savor it most deeply, then suffering is a mercy. And Christ's call to take up our cross and join Him on the Calvary road is love."

-John Piper, "Don't Waste Your Life"

THE IMPORTANCE OF SPIRITUAL GIFTS...by John MacArthur

Jesus has made it clear that we who know God are salt and light in the world (Mt. 5:13-14). The Scripture also calls us ambassadors to the world (2 Cor. 5:20) and pilgrims in the world (1 Pet. 2:11). Paul told the Philippians that our citizenship is not here but in heaven (Phil. 3:20). And, we are sojourners in the world (1 Pet. 1:17). So, there is a purpose for our individual existence as believers in the society in which we live -- to turn men to God through Christ. We are a witnessing community -- a group of people placed in the world to draw the attention of the world to God.

The Consideration of Christlikeness

1. THE PURPOSE
Perhaps the most thrilling concept of all regarding our identity is found in Ephesians 4:13: "Till we all come in the unity of the faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ." The design of the church is to be brought into Christlikeness -- till we all come to the full stature of Christ. God has given apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teaching pastors for the perfecting and the maturing of the saints for the work of the ministry that the body might be built up. The ultimate goal of the building up is that we might come to a fullness of Christlikeness.

Not only are we to be salt and light, ambassadors, and pilgrims in the world, but we are to be Christ in the world. This is a vital concept. The church is to be Christ in the world. I have chosen to call the church "Body II," and the incarnation "Body I" -- Christ in a human body. We are "Body II" -- Christ alive in the world in the church. This is a vital reality that we have to understand. The Lord Jesus wanted to remain in the world after the ascension by reproducing in us His very essence, life, personality, and character so that we might manifest Christ to the world.

2. THE PLAN
How has God designed us to be Christ in the world? How can we literally represent Him and manifest His character to this world?

a. Indwelling the Individual

The Bible says that He has planted within us the Spirit of Christ. Romans 8:9b says, "...Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of His." But we have received the Spirit of Christ; therefore, Paul says, "The life I live is not my own, but it is Christ living in me" (Gal. 2:20). So Christ reproduces Himself in the world by living in the individual believer.

b. Indwelling the Church

Now, Christ not only indwells every individual believer, but He indwells the corporate church. Ephesians 2:22 says that the entire church is built together as a habitation for the Spirit of Christ. Christ exists, not only in the individual life of a Christian, but in the corporate life of the community of believers known as the body of Christ. He produces His character in us first by dwelling in us.

3. THE PROCESS
Ephesians 4:7-8, 11-13 contains the simplest explanation of how Christ reproduces Himself in the church. His presence is there, but His character becomes manifested in this way:

a. The Spiritual Endowment

"But unto every one of us is given grace according to the measure of the gift of Christ" (Eph. 4:7). By grace Christ has given the believer certain gifts -- certain divine enablements. Not one Christian is excluded. We don't deserve it, we can't earn it, but these gifts of Christ are measured out individually and uniquely for every Christian. You say, "Why is `gift' singular if some of us have more than one?" I think the plurality of our gifts can be expressed as our single gift. My gift from God may be the gifts of preaching, teaching, and administration all combined into one gift. Sometimes you have opened one package and received three things in one box. But the design of the gift is to manifest His character. He gives us an aspect of His character.

b. The Spoils of the Cross

Verse 8 says, "Wherefore, He saith, When He ascended up on high, He led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men." When Christ died on the cross He gathered some spoils -- the spoils of the souls of the men and women that He won at the cross. He then gave them back to the church as gifts.

c. The Special Men

1) The Positive Result
According to verse 11 He gave the gifts of apostles, prophets, evangelists, and teaching pastors. They are the gifted men given to the church. Verse 7 says that He has already given individual gifts to the believer and it is the role of the gifted man to equip the gifted believers to use their gift. Verse 12 says that the gifted men are given for the maturing of the saints for the work of the ministry.

The Lord Jesus Christ has given every believer a gift for the purpose of manifesting Christ in the church and ultimately in the world. In order to allow us the fullest use of those gifts and to bring them to maturity, God has also given to the church the gifted men. The result is in verses 12b-13 -- the edifying of the body of Christ until the church together manifests the stature of the fullness of Christ. That is a great concept and very basic in identifying the church.

2) The Negative Response
Now, if the gifted men do not perfect the saints or the saints do not minister their gifts, the body will not be built up or manifest Christ. One of the difficulties in the church today is the fact that it is so fractured -- Christians are disobedient in the area of gifts and leaders are failing in perfecting the saints. The entire body of Christ is crippled, distorted, and confused. The world cannot see the true manifestation of Jesus Christ. The gifts are given to the church to the ultimate end that the church is built up into the fullness of the stature of Jesus Christ. Individually and corporately we should represent Christ.

The Characteristics of Christ

Now, all of the spiritual gifts in their fullest sense are complete in Christ. For example:

1. HIS EXAMPLE
There is the gift of prophecy, or preaching. Did Christ preach? Yes, He was the best. There is the gift of teaching. Did Christ teach? Yes, He was the best teacher. There is the gift of showing mercy. Did Christ show mercy? Yes, magnanimously, like no other person that ever lived. There are the gifts of ruling, helps, giving, and faith, each of which has its perfect example in Jesus Christ. He gave like nobody ever gave, ruled like nobody ever ruled, and had faith in the Father like nobody has ever displayed. In other words, the spiritual gifts are characteristics of Christ that will be manifest through the body corporate as they were manifest through the body incarnate. That is the purpose of spiritual gifts.

You say, "What about the miraculous gifts?" Christ had miraculous ability as confirmation of His identity. These gifts were also given in the early years of the church to confirm the message of God. So, all of the gifts find their perfection in Christ.

2. HIS ENABLEMENT
Now, when we preach, teach, show mercy, help, lead, give, or have faith, we find that our gift is a supernatural activity endowed and enabled by the Spirit of God. It manifests an attribute of Christ to the building of the body. Thus Christ becomes real in the world. The gifts are not random, but they specifically find their source in God, their channel in the Spirit, and their pattern, their example, and their completeness in the person of Jesus Christ. They are essential because they manifest Christ and build up the church.

Pondering the Principles
1. Look up the following verses: Matthew 11:29; 20:28; John 13:34; Romans 8:29; 15:2-3; 2 Corinthians 8:9; Galatians 6:2; Ephesians 5:2; Philippians 2:5-8; Colossians 3:13; Hebrews 12:2-4; 1 Peter 1:15; 2:21-24; 3:17-18; 1 John 3:1-3, 16. According to these verses, how are you to be Christlike? On a scale of 1-10, rate yourself in each of these areas. What are your strengths? What are your weaknesses? Which area do you want to improve in most? Ask God to give you the wisdom you need in applying His principles to this area of your life. Make it a goal this week to pursue changes in your life-style that might keep you from being Christlike. Remember, the Holy Spirit indwells you to give you the resources to accomplish this goal.

2. Meditate on the following verses: Ephesians 4:17-18; Titus 3:3; 1 Peter 4:3. Take this moment to thank God for saving you from such a life-style and bringing you into His glorious Kingdom.

3. Look up the following verses: John 16:7-14; Romans 8:1-17; 1 Corinthians 2:10-14; 1 John 4:2-3, 15. What is one name for the Holy Spirit according to John 16:13? Why is this significant in terms of distinguishing what is of the Spirit and what is not? According to these verses, how does the Holy Spirit manifest truth through the believer? How can you tell when someone is truly manifesting the Spirit of Christ? In order to solidify the importance of the Holy Spirit's ministry in your own life, memorize Romans 8:14: "For as many as are led by the Spirit of God, they are the sons of God."

YOUR WEEKLY DOSE OF GOSPEL...when babies die, do they all go to heaven?

The Three Stages of Grace

We've died once to the penalty of sin:

Titus 2:11 ¶ For the grace of God has appeared, with salvationa for all people,

Saved by grace.

All of man's estate from birth hopelessly marred in the fathomless effects of sin. By nature we are all children of wrath, sons of disobedience, slaves to sin; with the only merits of our righteousness compared to the riches of dirty, filthy rags. From the moment of our conception in the womb-- we are completely sinful. The wages of sin is death; all who sin die. That is why even infants die; they are sinful, sinners, and worthy of eternal perdition (Roms. 5:12-19).

What about infants who die; the mentally handicapped; or those who are ignorant of and have never heard the gospel? Are they given an exemption from the effects of sin, eternal judgment and punishment, and the righteous justice of a holy God? Are they somehow insulated from eternal wrath because of their age, mental capacity, and ignorance and that salvation is granted to them due to their "state of being" and not due to the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ?
Those that assert that all babies who die receive instant heaven, do so to sooth the aching hearts of grieving parents (which we all understand). But our hope beloved in the tragic death of an infant is not in the destiny of the child, but in the character of God. A baby's perceived "innocence" affording them instant heaven is only an accommodation afforded by the sentimental whims of man. "In sin my mother conceived me" (Psalm 51:5). We are all sinners (including children) not because we commit acts of sin; but because we are sinful to the core of our being - by nature. There is not a God-sized hole within us that needs filling by divine intervention. Our entire being is corrupt--and it is the same for our children.

Someone's age is not that which insulate one against God's holy divine judgment anymore than someone's mental cognation or ignorance from not hearing the good news of the gospel. Something are still a mystery to us beloved and we must leave them in the just hands of a righteous God. It would be wrong for any of us to be inflexibly dogmatic on the guaranteed eternal salvation of all infants, all who are mentally handicapped, and all those who die in the ignorance of never hearing the gospel. Those that do, IMHO, out of good motives, are promising false hope. And that promise is not up to us, but only up to God Himself.

We need to be born again. Paul leaves no doubt in the bankrupt abilities of man and the greatness of the grace of our God in salvation: "For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast." (Ephesians 2:8-9). "The grace of God has appeared bringing salvation..." and without grace, there is no hope of eternal life.

Grace is "hard" to live by; for grace robs man of his glory, of all boasting in his own abilities to be made acceptable to God, and dashes his religious pride to the ground. Grace strips us self-confidence, perfectionism, and our own goodness. Grace crushes our arrogance and exalts Christ; lifts holiness and dashes human morality

We die daily to the power of sin:

Titus 2:12 instructing us to deny godlessness and worldly lusts and to live in a sensible, righteous, and godly way in the present age,

Sanctified by grace.

No man through human effort can perfect himself. "Having begun in the Spirit are you trying to perfect yourself in the flesh?" (Gal. 3:3). It is a temptation for any of us once we have tasted of the fount of God's grace in salvation, to then revert back to a life of works in our sanctification. Paul says here in Titus that grace is our teacher; "instructing us to deny..." We are new creations in Christ, but yet we are incarcerated in unredeemed flesh (Romans 7). The things we want to do, we don't do; and the things we don't want to do, we do. "O wretched man am I" Paul says in the midst of this struggle.

Sanctification, though different from justification, is inextricably linked to justification and flow out of genuine regeneration. But we must remember beloved, it is all of grace - in that we are never acting independent from God and we are not passive in ourselves. For with all that is within us (heart, soul, mind, strength, will, emotion, etc.) we are to pursue holiness and Christlikeness with a relentless obedience in the power of the Holy Spirit every day. IOW, in salvation we do not cooperate with the Lord; but in sanctification, as new creations (2 Cor. 5:17) we do.

One day we will be free from the presence of sin:

Titus 2:13 while we wait for the blessed hope and the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. Titus 2:14 He gave Himself for us to redeem us from all lawlessness and to cleanse for Himself a special people, eager to do good works.

Glorified by grace.

Grace will see us through til the end. "Now to Him who is able to keep you from stumbling, and to make you stand in the presence of His glory blameless with great joy, to the only God our Savior, through Jesus Christ our Lord, be glory, majesty, dominion and authority, before all time and now and forever. Amen." (Jude 1: 24-25)

UNSHAKABLE HOPE IN THE MIDST OF PROFOUND GRIEF...this is the assurance of the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ

Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! 

According to his great mercy, he has caused us to 

be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of 

Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheritance that is imperishable, 

undefiled, and unfading, kept in heaven for you, 

who by God's power are being guarded through faith 

for a salvation ready to be revealed in the last time. 

In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, 

if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, 

so that the tested genuineness of your faith—

more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire—

may be found to result in praise and glory and honor 

at the revelation of Jesus Christ.

-1 Peter 1:3-7

WHAT IS SIN?...by Ichabod Spencer

1 John 3:4 "Sin is the transgression of the law."

Sinner, did you ever inquire what sin is? Did you ever study the Word of God, that you might have proper views of this greatest of all evils? If you have never made the inquiry, your state is bad, dreadfully bad. Your salvation is at stake. Look seriously into the text. Lift up your heart to God, and say, "Lord, give me proper views of sin." "Sin is the transgression of the law." What law? The law of the most holy God. Where is this law to be found? It is contained in the ten commandments. Did you ever read them with a trembling heart and a faltering voice, asking, "Have I transgressed this or that part of God's holy law? Did I ever consider that the law may be broken by thought, as well as by word or deed? Did I ever reflect that the law is spiritual, reaching to the thoughts, purposes, and intentions of the heart; that every irregular thought is a transgression of the law; that every unholy desire is sin; that 'every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment,' (Matt. 12:36) - that awful day, when the heart-searching God shall judge the secrets of our hearts? Alas! How many idle thoughts have passed through my mind, without the proper conviction attending each of them, that this is sin! See Genesis 6:5.

How many idle words have I every day spoken, without reflecting, that for every one of these I must give an account! When did the evil of my thoughts and words extort an anxious cry from my heart, 'God be merciful to me a sinner?' if sin be the transgression of the law; that is, if falling short of the perfection which the law requires, in thought, word, or deed, be sin, as well as doing that which the law forbids; how much have I to answer for, that perhaps I have never before thought of? Yet I have often confessed, 'We have done what we ought not to have done, and have left undone what we ought to have done, and there is no health in us.' Alas! I have mocked God, by confessing with my lips what I did not own in my heart."

Let my conscience, O Lord, now be awakened to know what sin is.

ONE EVIDENCE OF OUR SALVATION...daily repentance from sin

"Become sober-minded as you ought, and stop sinning;
for some have no knowledge of God I speak this to your shame."
-The Apostle Paul, 1 Cor. 15:34

Sin is something we all wrestle with everyday and in varying degrees. We will do so until we are home with the Lord. We are new creations (2 Cor. 5:17), but we are incarcerated in unredeemed flesh (Roms. 6:12-14; 8:22-24; 12:1).  The things we want to do, we don't do; and the things we don't want to do, we do (Roms. 7:13-20).  We can say with the Apostle Paul, "O wretched man am I" (Roms. 7:24).

When the gospel of grace apprehends our lives and regenerates us, one of the evidences is to repent from sin. Repentance, that powerful - truthful word, has almost been exiled and excused from most church pulpits, elder meetings, prayer gatherings, and worship services today.  As one pastor told me a few years ago: "we don't talk about repentance anymore for we desire to be more 'grace centered' in this church."  I don't know about you beloved, but I sin far too easily; I have a PhD in rationalizing it in my life.  My sinful soul tries to excuse and spin the sin so that I fail to daily repent. My own heart can deceive me; and when I think I am victorious in a certain area of my life, Solomon's words quickly humble when he says: even "the thought of foolishness is sin" (Prov. 24:9).  IOW, I haven't arrived in conquering the daily tug of sin by a long shot in my life; and that is why my only hope for eternity, and for today, is the grace that is in Christ Jesus my Lord.  Do you feel the same way too?

Shall We Go On Sinning that Grace May Abound? May It Never Be
Though we have entered into our eternal rest by grace through faith (Eph. 2:8f) - we must never forget that grace never winks at sin; that grace never leads us to fulfilling further ungodliness and worldly desires (Titus 2:12); that grace doesn't indulge the flesh (Romans 6:1f); or cherish iniquity (Psalm 66:18; Heb. 11:25f). But that grace ultimately doesn't justify sin and calls all who know its voice to turn from their sin and to turn to God - repentance. Metonoia is the Greek term and it means a complete change of mind; an about face; literally all we believe in regards to how we behave.

We Can't Negotiate with Sin
I'm not strong enough to think I can negotiate with sin... are you? We must by God's grace, adhere Paul's command to young, timid Timothy when he says, "flee youthful lust and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace with those who call on the Lord from a pure heart" (2 Tim. 2:22). To flee here means to be a "fugitive from." IOW, don't let sin catch us, flee it, run from it. Paul talked of a "repentance without regret" and a "godly sorrow that leads to repentance" accompanying our salvation (2 Cor. 7:9f). And finally Peter tells us that, "the Lord... not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance" (2 Peter 3:9). So whether it be our salvation or our daily sanctification, it is all of grace and evidenced by repentance.

Matthew Mead insightfully says,

"If sin be as terrible as you say it is why then are our lives not lived more holy; and if sin is not as terrible as you say it is, why then do you preach against it with such fury?"

Truth or Consequences
When sin goes on ignored in any of our lives, without our consciences being pricked and our hearts numb to its practice, then we can become a little more hardened and dull to the Holy Spirit's convicting power in our lives. Sin can cause the Holy Spirit to be grieved (Eph. 4:30); our prayers to go unanswered (1 Peter 3:7); stifle our service (1 Cor. 9:27); causes our praise to be unacceptable (Psalm 33:1); withholds God's blessing from us (Jer. 5:25); forfeits our joy (Psalm 32:3-4; 51:12); hinders our spiritual growth (1 Cor. 3:1-3); causes our fellowship to become strained and disingenuous (1 Cor. 3:10:21; 11:28f); and most paramount, God to be dishonored (1 Cor. 6:19f). Sin causes the whole church to suffer (1 Cor. 12:26); provokes possible discipline (Matt. 18:15-20); and God to chasten our lives (Heb. 12:1-12).

Is it any wonder that the great Puritan preacher, Thomas Watson, said "that a sign of sanctification is a hatred of sin...one who not only leaves sin, but loathes it." That is precisely why Solomon wrote in Proverbs 28:13, "He who conceals his transgressions will not prosper, but he who confesses and forsakes [repentance] them will find compassion." IOW, unconfessed sin, God will uncover; he who uncovers his sin, God will cover.

There are three categories of sin we find in Scripture:

1. Secret sin - Psalm 19:12f, 139:23f

2. Private sin - Matt. 5:23f, Romans 12:18, Matt. 6:14f

3. Public sin - Acts 5:1-11, I Cor. 5:4, Gal. 2:12-15, I Tim. 5:20, Matt. 18:15-20

What then constitutes true repentance from sin? What are the elements of that repentance and how are they to be executed?

1. Conviction of sin - John 16:8

2. Contrition over sin - Psalm 51:17, 2 Cor. 7:8-11, Psalm 38:18, Ez. 43:10

3. Confession of sin - James 5:16, Psalm 32:5, Neh. 9:2

4. Conversion from sin - Romans 6:12f, Ez. 14:6, Is.55:7, Acts 3:26

There is the shame of our sin; the sorrow over our sin; the confessing of it to those whom we have wounded; and finally the turning from our sin as the true sign of our salvation in Christ. Repentance; Restoration; Restitution; Reconciliation.

Oh beloved, may we each make the grace-empowered choices to walk daily in the joy of repentance and prove our calling and election to be sure (2 Peter 1:4-12).